Almost every week in our AchooAllergy.com team meeting, we talk about our company’s mission and what we are doing to fulfill that mission. We are in a battle with allergies and our number one weapon is environmental control.

Sometimes in the day-to-day bustle and the desire to meet deadlines, we can lose sight of how important some of our products are to the everyday lives of allergy sufferers.

However, yesterday on the front page of CNN’s web site, an article about a young child and his parents dealing with food allergies was a poignant reminder of how allergies can harm our quality of life.

Teddy, a four year-old with severe food allergies, has to stay clear of milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, and tree nuts. His parents have to be vigilant with any food products they buy at the grocery store, but they also have to monitor what Teddy eats in places outside the home like at school or restaurants.

One paragraph from the article illustrates Teddy’s situation:

If milk touches Teddy, he gets hives -- he doesn't even have to ingest it. This is a lot different from "lactose intolerance," which some people confuse with a milk allergy. Lactose intolerance produces gastric distress for someone. A milk allergy can be life-threatening.

Thinking about Teddy in a school cafeteria with peanut butter sandwiches and milk all around him has to be frightening for him and his parents.

At AchooAllergy.com, we want to do our best to promote education and research that will help allergy sufferers like Teddy. We want people to experience a higher quality of life and to breathe better.